Interchanging method and apparatus for a brake piston compressor

1. A brake piston compressor, comprising:

two blocks;

a forcing screw configured to engage the blocks to selectively bring the blocks closer together or farther apart from each other depending upon which way the forcing screw is turned;

a turn bar configured to extend through the forcing screw and provide a handle for turning the forcing screw;

two pads each pad configured to be slidably engaged with at least one block; and

a locking mechanism configured to engage and disengage to lock one of the pads to one of the blocks when the locking mechanism is engaged, wherein each block has U-shaped channels on three sides.

2. The brake piston compressor of claim 1 , wherein each block has U-shaped channels in which the pads slidably engage the blocks.

3. The brake piston compressor of claim 1 , wherein the locking mechanism includes a pin configured to extend into a hole in the block and a notch in the pad thereby locking the pad to the block.

4. The brake piston compressor of claim 1 , further comprising a guide pin connecting the blocks to each other and extending substantially parallel to the forcing screw.

5. The brake piston compressor of claim 1 , wherein the pads are substantially flat shaped.

6. The brake piston compressor of claim 5 , further including a curved surface in an edge of the pads opposite an edge that engages the blocks.

7. The brake piston compressor of claim 5 , further including at least one additional set of pads having at least one of a different length and width as the pads but substantially the same thickness as the pads at the place where the pads engage the blocks.

8. The brake piston compressor of claim 1 , further comprising a forcing screw nut and wherein the forcing screw has a hex shaped head and the blocks are located between the head and the nut.

9. A method of operating a brake piston compressor, comprising:

sliding a first pad into a channel in a first block;

locking the first pad to the first block;

turning a forcing screw to move the first pad and first block with respect to a second pad and a second block; and

spreading a brake piston with the first and second pads.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the locking step includes sliding a pin through a hole in the first block and a notch in the first pad.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the turning step includes rotating a turn bar connected to the forcing screw.

12. The method of claim 9 , further comprising removing the first and second pads from the blocks and sliding a second set of pads onto the blocks wherein the second set of pads have different dimensions than the first and second pads.

13. The method of claim 9 , further comprising sliding the first pad into three channels in the first block.

14. The method of claim 9 , further comprising turning the forcing screw with a hex tool.

15. The method of claim 9 , further comprising manipulating a nut on the forcing screw.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the manipulating is done with a hex tool.

17. A brake piston compressor comprising:

two blocks;

means for forcing configured to engage the blocks to selectively bring the blocks closer together or farther apart from each other depending upon which way the means for forcing is actuated;

means for turning configured to extend through the means for forcing and provide a handle for turning the means for forcing;

two pads each pad configured to be slidably engaged with at least one block; and

means for locking configured engage and disengage to lock one of the pads to one of the blocks when the means for locking is engaged, wherein each block has U-shaped channels on three sides.